Site Menu

Home

Welcome!

The Office of Legal Affairs provides comprehensive legal services to the university, including advice on a wide variety of legal issues such as personnel matters, research contracting and compliance, intellectual property, campus safety, open records and meetings, privacy and security of information, and many others.

Legal Affairs also reviews and drafts policies, represents the institution in administrative hearings, acts as a liaison with the Wisconsin Department of Justice in litigation filed in court, and educates the campus regarding legal issues.

We strive to minimize risks and liability to UWM while balancing the other interests of UWM representatives and the mission of the University.

Mission

Legal Affairs is committed to providing the highest standard of legal advice and representation, with professionalism and integrity, in furtherance of UWM’s unique mission as a major doctoral university serving the diverse needs of Wisconsin’s largest metropolitan area.

Organization

Legal Affairs is a small office, with four full-time attorneys, one half-time attorney, and one legal support staff member. Each attorney is a generalist capable of handling a wide variety of legal matters, while also having particular expertise in certain key areas (please see our directory for details). The attorneys rotate the handling of new matters to ensure quick response to urgent issues while also accommodating planned workloads and schedules. You can find more on our intake process here.

Access to Legal Services

Under the Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules regulating attorneys practicing in Wisconsin, our attorneys represent the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System as an institutional entity. This means that we are available to provide counsel to any UWM employee who represents the University’s interests and has questions arising in the course and scope of their employment. Legal Affairs does not represent or provide legal advice to students or UWM employees on personal matters, including challenges to institutional decisions. If you are a student or an employee seeking personal legal assistance, please see our legal referral information here.

Copyright and Permission to Use

Users of this website may copy, distribute, and display the materials on this page for any educational, non-commercial purpose without seeking permission as long as appropriate attribution is given to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. To the extent we have linked to materials of others, this license to use may not apply — separate permission may be needed from the author of the work. Legal Affairs expresses particular gratitude to the UW System General Counsel’s Office. Many Legal Topics are linked to the UW General Counsel’s excellent and helpful web site, and some content has been borrowed directly from that site.